Donald Trump insists that America must become great again. The governing manifesto of the Brothers of Italy, led by Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, speaks of the need for the country to embrace and retain its glorious heritage. Recep Tayyip Erdoğan never misses an opportunity to boast about Turkey’s majestic history.
What do all these leaders and their parties have in common? They harken back to the past in a particular way, longing for the “good old days.” They paint a picture of a time when everything was more beautiful, societies were more wholesome and moral, and life had meaning.
Nostalgia almost always involves a romanticized view of the past. With time, we tend to forget the unpleasant and predominantly remember the pleasant.
A Russian intellectual once commented on how amusing he found his friends’ insistence that their lives were better during the Soviet Union. “We were young, feeling like we had our whole future ahead of us. We drank, went from party to party, had sex without a care in the world. Now, when we meet, we count who has died, talk about our illnesses, and compete over who takes the most pills. Of course, our lives back then were better.”
Nostalgia, according to neuroscientist Charan Ranganath, can be a political tool. While it is beneficial when positive memories make us feel better, it becomes detrimental when a glorified past distorts our perception of the present.
Autocratic politicians are keen to exploit this, especially during challenging times. They consciously strive to capitalise on nostalgia, distorting history to manipulate people. They present a grim present filled with problems and contrast it with a glittering past where life was better. And, of course, they promise that only they can bring back the “good old days.”
Thus, the use of nostalgia in politics is strategic. The fact that those who employ it seem to cash in on elections proves its effectiveness as a tool. But it is also a dangerous method of obfuscation and misinformation.
Electoral manifestos typically contain promises for the future. Autocratic leaders, however, make promises about the past. Promises that cannot be kept, not only because the romanticised past they envision never truly existed but mainly because life does not go backwards; it moves forward.nostalgia. nostalgia, politics, manipulation
